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Controlling Board approves first Salt Fork royalty allocation amid questions about predictability and seismic safety
Summary
The State Controlling Board approved the first royalty payment allocation to Salt Fork State Park, while lawmakers pressed the Department of Natural Resources on how reliably future royalties can be predicted and whether seismic monitoring tied to fracking will be reported to the board.
The State Controlling Board on Feb. 2 approved a request from the Department of Natural Resources to allocate 30% of the first royalty payment from a Salt Fork lease to improvements at Salt Fork State Park.
Representative Sweeney pressed DNR Chief Financial Officer Ryan Frazee for details on how the royalty split aligns with park needs and how reliably the department can predict future payments. "Is it something that the Department can reliably predict in the future to assess those needs?" she asked. Frazee said the department did not know precise future receipts until payments arrive: "We don't, you know, $3,932,815.63 came in. Via wire payment, that 30% is the request for you." (Mr. Frazee identified the payment as covering a quarter's activity.)
Frazee told the board that prior "initial bonus payments" to Salt Fork totaled about $60 million, of which roughly $20 million (about 30%) had been spent on park improvements and that the other $40 million was appropriated by the General Assembly for state-park operations. He said the roughly $2.8 million representing the remaining 70% of this royalty payment is sitting in the Natural Resource Land Royalty Fund and that longer-term allocation decisions were not part of the current request.
Sweeney also raised concerns about seismic activity and public safety connected to fracking near state parks, citing recent reporting that linked operations to earthquakes in other Ohio areas. "Can you just give us some understanding of the safety protocols? How normal is it for earthquakes to be happening connected to the fracking within these parts?" she asked. Frazee said he had checked with the division of oil and gas and that there had been "no issues at Salt Fork," and he deferred a detailed seismic-answer to staff in the oil-and-gas division.
The board approved the item without recorded roll-call objections. Follow-ups requested by board members included a report of seismic activity in the area tied to drilling over the prior two to three years and more detail on the department's long-range plan for Salt Fork's capital and operational needs.
What happens next: The department will supply additional details on seismic monitoring and longer-term planning for Salt Fork; the royalty funds approved are intended for park improvements, as directed by statute and prior board action.
